Stimulus Done Right

29 May 2009

Arapahoe County is investing its money in the community by buying $5 million in certificates of deposit from local banks. In return, those banks will have the capital to make loans to small businesses that have been hobbled by the credit crunch.

Of all the government stimulus programs I’ve heard about, this one is by far my favorite. Here’s why.

Most of the programs we hear about are not stimulus-minded at their core. I think stimulus has become a misused umbrella term for government expenditures, bailouts and control-heavy takeovers. There is a top-down, “here’s some money, don’t blow it” mentality to most of the programs you hear about on the national scene. There is a sense of throwing money at problems. I don’t like that.

This program, however, seems more like a business move. It’s mutually beneficial. It doesn’t cost taxpayers later on. It’s smart.

One of the most insightful ideas I’ve heard about the economy lately deals with the stock market bust and the fallen house of cards that investors had created.

The argument was that investors aren’t contributing to the economy, only feeding off of it. Money moved around Wall Street, transferring wealth here and there without really contributing anything tangible to the economy in terms of goods or services. That’s fine, but there needs to be a balance.

When we reached a point where people were feeding off of the economy faster than people were contributing to it, the system got top-heavy. Then it toppled over. The lesson was that people needed to contribute to the economy in meaningful ways rather than take what they can from it and leave.

It’s an interesting idea, and I think there are analogies to be drawn to stimulus programs. We need programs that contribute to our economy in meaningful ways, not buyouts and “free money.” That’s what distinguishes this program from others.

It’s very encouraging to see this program as one more step in the progressive mindset of economic gardening that our South Metro community will be known for in years to come.

Jeremy Bangs is managing editor of Colorado Community Newspapers. His e-mail address is This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .